


Mama?

by Starra



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Blanca's wife is mentioned, Dreams, Gen, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, References to Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 20:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17332169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starra/pseuds/Starra
Summary: Yut Lung wakes up in the middle of the night and sees the ghost of his mother. He follows her around the house before she brings him to a room. Yut Lung doesn't realise it's Blanca's bedroom until Blanca asks him what he's doing.He and Blanca then discuss their deceased loved ones.Written for Banana Fish Angst Week. Prompt: Jan 7 - Ghosts





	Mama?

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally gonna do something for the "Sorrow" prompt but came up with this idea instead.
> 
> This really doesn't feel like angst at all considering what I posted yesterday lol at least I don't have to warn for anything here.

Yut Lung found himself waking up in the middle of the night. He wasn't sure what time it was, and he wasn't sure why he'd woken up initially. He wasn't thirsty, and he didn't need the bathroom.

When he rolled over in the direction of his doorway, he saw a figure standing -- no, hovering -- by the door. It was blurry and almost faded in colour. He rubbed his eyes. The figure was still there, slightly more in focus.

It looked an awful lot like his own reflection. Was it himself from the future? The past? He slowly sat up and got out of bed, cautiously tiptoeing towards the figure.

As he inched closer, the details of the figure in front of him came into view. He felt his stomach churn as he realised who it was.

"Mama?"

She didn't respond. He walked up to her. He could almost touch her, but he didn't want to in case it made her disappear.

What was his mother doing here? She was dead. She'd been dead for ten years at this point. But it was definitely _her_. She had a blank, distant expression on her face, and wore a white nightgown that Yut Lung vaguely remembered from his childhood.

"Mama?" he repeated. His mother gestured towards the door, as if she wanted him to open it.

 

Was she here to take him with her?

He opened the door and his mother walked -- floated -- out into the hallway. It was pitch black, although Yut Lung knew the layout of his house perfectly. His mother led him down through the hallways, stopping occasionally to let him catch up, always keeping distance between them. Her expression never changed.

Before he realised it, she was standing in front of the front doors.

"Mama," Yut Lung said, "I can't go outside. It's nighttime." He had automatically spoken to her in Chinese, and hadn't realised until the last syllable left his mouth.

His mother gestured towards the front doors. Why did she want him to go outside? It was dark and it was cold. Yut Lung was only wearing his red night robe, which was completely inappropriate attire for a nighttime stroll.

He reluctantly placed his hand on the doorknob, but stopped himself at the last second. What if he left and never came back? Blanca was still there. Hua Lung was still there.

Yut Lung let go of the doorknob.

"Sorry, Mama," he said. "Not tonight."

She said nothing and began floating back down the hallway. Where was she taking him now? Back to his room?

 

She stopped outside a room where the door was still closed. Yut Lung hadn't been paying attention, and he didn't know which room it was. It wasn't his bedroom, he'd left that door open.

"Do you want me to go in here, Mama?" he asked. His mother made the same gesture again.

Yut Lung quietly opened the door. His mother didn't follow him inside.

"Mama?" he whispered. "Are you not coming in?" She shook her head.

"Come on, Mama," he said. "Why did you bring me here? What do you want?" He kept his voice calm and tried to speak quietly, so that he wouldn't scare her. Why wouldn't she enter the room?

 

Just as he was about to make his way over to her again, a voice spoke up from behind him.

"Mr. Yut Lung?"

 

Yut Lung quickly spun around. He was in Blanca's room. Blanca was sitting up in bed, confused. He reached for the lamp that was on his nightstand, but Yut Lung interrupted him before he pressed the switch.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. Blanca paused.

"What's the matter?" the older man asked.

Yut Lung turned towards the door. His mother was no longer there. In a mild panic, he rushed out into the hallway to see if she'd tried to hide from Blanca, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Mama?" Yut Lung called, raising his voice slightly. "Where did you go?" He scanned the hallway for her over and over. Nothing.

 

"Sir, what's wrong?" Blanca was behind him again. Yut Lung turned around to face him, noticing that his bodyguard had switched on his bedroom light.

"I..." Yut Lung didn't know what to say. If he told Blanca he'd been chasing his mother, Blanca would probably laugh at him. He didn't seem like the type to believe in ghosts, after all.

"Here, come and sit down," Blanca offered, taking Yut Lung's arm in his and gently guiding him over to the bed. Yut Lung sat down on the end of it. "You were speaking in Chinese," Blanca continued, getting back into bed. "I couldn't understand what you were saying, but... Did I hear you say 'Mama'?"

Blanca clearly wasn't an idiot. Yut Lung was surprised he'd been awake enough to notice that.

"I did, yeah..." Yut Lung mumbled, twiddling his thumbs. He really wasn't sure how to explain himself. He'd ended up in Blanca's room for no real reason, other than that he'd been led here.

"Were you... Did you see your mother?" Blanca asked calmly.

Was Yut Lung really that easy to read?

"I... I saw her," he admitted. "She woke me up and took me to the front doors and tried to get me to go outside, but I told her I couldn't. Then she... brought me here."

"I see."

 

Silence fell. Yut Lung contemplated returning to his room, but for some reason he didn't want to.

 

He took a deep breath. "I know it's stupid," Yut Lung said, "But I saw her. It was definitely her, I know it was. She was trying to tell me something. Trying to... Trying to take me with her."

"And you didn't go with her?" Blanca asked.

"I couldn't," Yut Lung answered. "I still have things to take care of before I'll be able to join her. I don't... I don't know why she decided to show up tonight."

"Probably because you'd told me about her earlier," Blanca said. "It made you remember her."

Yut Lung didn't respond. Blanca was right, as he always was, but he didn't want to admit that.

"Actually..." Blanca sighed, suddenly looking sad. "I had a dream about my wife tonight for the first time in years. I think it's because I'd talked about her to you."

"What was the dream about?" Yut Lung asked, although he didn't really care.

"Nothing interesting," Blanca said with a chuckle. "Just us on our honeymoon in Italy. We were at the beach, enjoying ourselves. She was laughing, having fun, chasing the waves. Trying to get me to join in..."

"Did you?" Yut Lung wanted to stop asking questions, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"I did," Blanca said. "I'm always with her. Even now, we're connected."

"...But she's dead." That wasn't the right thing to say.

"I know," Blanca said, sighing again. "But she's still with me. And your mother's still with you."

Yut Lung wanted to tell him that that was bullshit, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Not with the way Blanca talked about his wife.

 

He decided to ask another question instead. "Do you believe in ghosts, Blanca?"

Blanca paused, which meant he didn't. "I'm not sure," he said. "I want to believe the dead are watching over us and are supporting us somehow, and we just can't see them. I know that's just wishful thinking, but if I imagine that Natasha's still always next to me, it makes the days easier. Maybe if I believed in ghosts I'd actually see her..." He trailed off.

"If... If you _did_ see your wife," Yut Lung said, "What would you say to her?"

 

Blanca paused again. Yut Lung really wasn't sure why he even asked that, it was a weird (and personal) question. Blanca's relationship with his wife wasn't of importance to Yut Lung.

"I'd say a lot of things," Blanca answered slowly. "I'd thank her for loving me, for being there for me. I'd apologise for not being able to save her. And I'd tell her... how much she still means to me, and that I love her."

The idea of loving another human being that much was a concept Yut Lung didn't understand. He couldn't understand it. Blanca's wife had died many years ago, yet he still missed her. It sounded annoying to him, having to pine after someone even after their death. Maybe he was better off not feeling anything.

 

"What would you tell your mother if you saw her, Sir?" Blanca asked. Yut Lung felt a twinge of annoyance that Blanca had turned the tables on him, but he recognised that it was fair.

"I don't know," Yut Lung replied. "I'm not sure if she'd even want me to say anything to her. But I think... I'd also apologise. For being unable to protect her. And for not being able to join her..."

"I don't think your mother would want you to join her, Sir," Blanca said.

"But then why did she come to me tonight?!" Yut Lung failed in keeping his voice stable. "If she didn't come to get me, why was she here?!"

"Perhaps she just wanted to check on you," Blanca suggested. "Now that the ones who are responsible for her death are gone, she can safely appear in front of you. She was making sure you were okay."

A lump formed in Yut Lung's throat. Blanca was being ridiculous. His mother had no reason to do that. "Why would she bother?"

"Because she loves you," Blanca said. "She was thanking you for avenging her."

 _Bullshit_ , Yut Lung thought. That wouldn't have been it at all. But he was starting to feel tired and didn't have the energy to argue.

 

"I'm going back to bed," he announced, standing up. "Good night, Blanca." He paused for a moment. "...Sorry for waking you."

"It's quite alright, Sir," Blanca said. "Take care on your way. Good night."

 

Yut Lung secretly hoped he'd see his mother on his way back, but he didn't. She'd probably been scared off by Blanca, although that made no sense since she was the one who'd brought him to Blanca's room in the first place.

 

* * *

 

When Yut Lung walked into Blanca's room the next morning, he was packing his belongings. Yut Lung stood against the doorframe with his arms folded.

"Where are you going?"

**Author's Note:**

> I promise not all my angst week fics will be about Yut Lung... Hopefully...


End file.
